Cafe Eleven

   After 3 albums and ten years of touring and recording, The Helio Sequence (Brandon Summers and Benjamin Weikel) have recorded their most dynamic, extraordinary work to date. Keep Your Eyes Ahead marries the Portland duo’s signature layered keyboards and impossibly big guitars with crisp songwriting and a newfound appreciation for minimalism. The finger picking on “Shed Your Love” is backed by exquisite strings and ambient noise, but Brandon’s serene, self-assured delivery remains front and center. While songs from the band’s early releases spanned up to 7 minutes, even the longest, lushest, catchiest track on Keep Your Eyes Ahead (fiery anthem “Hallelujah”) clocks in at 4 and a half minutes, evidence of just how refined their craft has become. Vocals were recorded spontaneously in bedroom closets and living rooms, which may explain the haunting urgency you hear in Brandon’s voice, especially on driving tracks like “Keep Your Eyes Ahead.” The band also took its time on the album.

“It’s the most solid album in the group’s discography, haunting with moments of near perfection.”—Alternative Press

“This confident piece of work is like mannah from the heavens for college rock fans, freshening up loose, rhythmic song structures with a charming lo-fi aesthetic.”—Billboard

   Blending Malian, American and “Dirty South” influences into a sound all its own, Toubab Krewe “has set a new standard for fusions of rock ‘n’ roll and West African music,” says Banning Eyre at Afropop Worldwide.

Since forming in early 2005, the magnetic instrumental quintet has been credited with bridging the gap between West African and American music unlike any group before them, quickly winning a diverse and devoted following at top venues such as the Bonnaroo and Vegoose festivals to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Their live shows and self-titled debut album have won international acclaim from the New York Times, Global Rhythm, fRoots, NPR and more.

The members of Toubab Krewe developed their unique sound over the course of numerous extended trips to Mali, Guinea, and Ivory Coast, where they immersed themselves in the local culture and studied and performed with luminaries such as Lamine Soumano, Vieux Kante, Madou Dembele and Koungbanan Conde. The band kicked off 2007 in Essakane, Mali, where they played the legendary Festival of the Desert, known as the most remote festival in the world.

The band is currently working on their sophomore album with Grammy winning producer Steven Heller, slated for release in early 2008.

   Tapes ‘n Tapes’ signature sound is distinctly their own concoction; the shaky vocals, the bursts of low-fi guitars and the haunting keyboard refrains. Whether it is on the opening track, “Le Ruse,” where the first thing you hear is one guitar, crackling like the amp might short-circuit or the last, on the swaggering, “The Dirty Dirty,” with its driving guitar and unrelenting rhythm, the band continue to hone their own brand of jittery rock that has found the sweet spot where experimental song structure meets melodic accessibility.

   It’s Charlie’s mix of wild country abandon seasoned by years of playing urban electric blues in Chicago that spurs the likes of Ben Harper, Tom Waits and Gov’t Mule to welcome Musselwhite onto their stages and records. That same brash, blues/rock rebel vibe was Dan Aykroyd’s inspiration for his Elwood Blues persona, and it’s what has won Musselwhite a pile of blues awards and earned the admiration and respect of his own heroes: Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters. John Lee was even the best man at Charlie’s wedding.

   Over the years, Musselwhite has released dozens of albums and has contributed to countless others including guesting on Bonnie Raitt’s Grammy® award-winning Longing In Their Hearts, The Blind Boys of Alabama’s Grammy-winning SPIRIT OF THE CENTURY, Tom Waits’ MULE VARIATIONS and even playing the driving harmonica on INXS’ SUICIDE BLONDE. He was the longtime compadre and musical partner to his friend John Lee Hooker. His recent tour and recording sessions with Ben Harper have led to live and studio tracks featuring Charlie on the limited edition bonus disc of Ben’s soon-to-be released BOTH SIDES OF THE GUN. Musical institutions have honored Musselwhite, too. With 18 W.C. Handy awards to his credit and 6 Grammy nominations, he is firmly entrenched in musical history. Musselwhite has also been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Monterey Blues Festival and the San Javier Jazz Festival in Spain and the Mississippi Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.